“We Have Seen His Star… but We Did Not Go!”

The biblical account of the birth of Christ includes the fascinating account of the wise men from the east who saw the star in the sky and followed it, seeking “he that is born King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2).  Somehow, these sages understood that the appearance of this star was of momentous importance, and they followed it, until it led them to Bethlehem’s manger.

Have you ever wondered, as have I, about where these wise men were from?  And how come they alone followed the star?  Were they the only star watchers in the east who understood that something significant was occurring with this appearance?

What if there had been some other wise men who also saw that natal star, and who even started on their journey to follow its light, but never made it all the way to Bethlehem?  What if they were side tracked by someone and never learned of the Lord’s Christ?  What might have happened in their country?

Hold on to your hat… it appears that really happened!  Read this account:

In the annals of the Celestial Empire, there is historical evidence of Ambassadors or "wise men" having been sent towards the West in search of the "Great Saint who was to appear." The following from the Annals narrates the circumstance: --

 "In the 24 th year of the Tchao-Wang, of the dynasty of the Tcheou, on the 8 th day of the 4 th moon, a light appeared in the south-west which illuminated the "king's palace. The monarch, struck by its splendour, interrogated the sages, who were skilled in foretelling future events. They then showed him hooks in which it was written that this prodigy signified the appearance of a great Saint in the West, whose religion was to be introduced into this country.

The king consulted the ancient books, and having found the passages corresponding with the time of Tchao-Wang, was filled with joy. Then he sent the officers Tsa-yu and Thsin-King, the learned Wang-Tsun, and fifteen other men to the West to obtain information." So sensible were these "wise men" of the time and place of the Saviour's birth, that they set forth to hail the expected Redeemer.

The envoy encountered in their way the missionaries of Buddhism coming from India announcing an incarnate god; these the Chinese took for the disciples of the true Christ, embraced their teaching, and introduced them to their fellow-country-men as the teachers of the true religion. Thus was Buddhism introduced into China in place of Christianity.

(from The Biblical Illustrator, Joseph Exell, editor. Published by Baker Publishing House, Copyright (c)1952)

Does the gravity of this story grab your heart the way it does mine?  If only those astronomers had continued all the way to Bethlehem, instead of being detoured by the Buddhist missionaries coming out of India, China and the Far East could have been a Christian continent.

This Christmas, let’s not pass by the opportunities the Lord gives us to point people to Jesus Christ.  If we don’t, Satan’s counterfeit missionaries surely will fill the vacuum to the eternal detriment of the sinner’s soul.